Always Guaranteed

by

Cliff Richard

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This Cliff album will transport you to the realms of beautiful fantasies and dreams. I love most of Cliff's work but I don't think I've ever seen a Cliff album with so much imagination and creativity, both in the strength of the songwriting, in the production/blend of instruments and in the way Cliff's voice is used.

Reading the sleeve notes, it seems that Alan Tarney, who authored all the songs bar one, and produced the whole album, had some doubts about his songwriting. But he is a genius. His backing tracks are so ethereal, so funky, so boppy, they make you drift into a blissful haze and trance. But when Cliff's vocals, crystal-clear and smooth as dripping honey and fluttering delicately into the music like a bluesy butterfly, are allied to this, the result is the most perfect and utopic (and still sounding ultra contemporary) album you could ever hear.

Cliff's versatile voice is brilliantly accomplished and sensual. He uses the influences of his rock n roll roots, dating back to the fifties, and he throbs with blues, rockabilly, harmonies, jazz and soul to breathe life into these funky rock/dance ballads. "One Night" is soulful and sexy, "Once Upon A Time" passionnate and warm; "This Time Now" is mellow and bluesy (sublime satiny vocals); "Under Your Spell" (written by Chris Eaton) is soaring and `spell'binding; "My Pretty One" is fairy-like; "Forever" is a luscious romantic epic and the title track is a darker rocker, hotter and sultrier. Listen to the lyrics too, as they have some very moving stories to tell eg "Some People".

The eight bonus tracks with this album make this cd excellent value for money. I've got three faves - "Brave New World", listen to Cliff's silky high notes at the end; the mellifluous "Wild Geese" and the sweet reggae "Another Christmas Day" which is about the true meaning of the festive season.

"Always Guaranteed" was Cliff's biggest selling studio album, and it's certainly rates as one of his finest and that's saying something! It is out of this world. Pure bliss!